A month out but back now.

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

TALE OF TWO JOHNNY'S A.K.A. WEIRD ATOMIC TALES:



The art continues but doubt of making it to print by the time Jet City Comic Book show rolls around, I do not think I could have a completed piece of work that would be to both Jason's and my liking.  That book deserves to have the best possible look.
We have waited this far just a little longer for the books release.
It will be work it, trust me.

COMMISSIONS! 

One of the hardest types of artwork to do and create is a piece for friends.  And even more so for friends who also play DnD.  And have been a former DnD'er I know how particular players are when it comes to visual renditions of their characters. 
SO this was a daunting task for me to take on.
But as the my birthday approached I was able to bulldog my way through to a finished piece that I was happy with.
The funny thing is that in the last 15 years that I had been associated with this particular group of friends (whom I would call my family in a way) I had done other images of older characters in the game campaign. 
So really this was not something that was new to me but my artistic style had grown and I was being paid for this so that put a different spin on things in a big way.
But it is done and of course one image opens into others as now I have another commission for a sticker coming up for the FALLMEN again which is about the most steady commission work I got going for myself.  But it also opened up the possibility for other work another band as well.    So we'll see where that goes.
The Reading on the run here is with the proud owner of the scratchboard hanging on the wall. I love seeing people with the work that they have purchased. It makes me proud and validates the work.



GALLERY WORK:





  Work has increased as the deadline looms away for about two weeks. I should have no problem with that but the following month in October the BIG 100 we’ll see what happens.

BBC Update 7/24/11

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

TALE OF TWO JOHNNYS A.K.A WEIRD ATOMIC TALES
So it begins... The inking.  Now for some inking has been reduced to a all to common phrase from a movie (in particular Chasing Amy) "You're just a tracer." Every single comic illustrator I know and writer has heard this or have been the subject of being a tracer.

As the artist of the work and your finishing it, are you,   in fact, at that time still a tracer?  I would have to say yes you are.
Now that being said I can say - like Banky - I am the finish artist.
Every artist I have come across has a different way of approching the inking as they do the penciling.  I leave my pencils pretty loose when I'm drawing because I haven't figured out where the light source  is coming from or it has not been specified in the script.  And then there is the background to keep the work grounded.

The other thing is size.  Inking defines a character.   I'm not the greatest penciler out there but I am a competent one but inking is a while different story.  Weight of a ink line for a penciled page goes a long in definition. 

It was one of those things that helped Jack Kirby become forever immortalized along with his body of work and layout style.
I will never be that close to be like Jack unless I had the kind of support that he had cranking out the pages. But finding that someone is still very illusive.
Reguardless the deadline looms in the distance. And with every passing minute that much closer. 
But great work comes with time.   And so far this has been a great work.
Things are still looking good.

BBC Update 7/17/11

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest from the box!

TALE OF TWO JO(H)NNY'S. A.K.A.  WEIRD ATOMIC TALES #1
Are you ready for the Mother of all Crossovers?!
We hope so!
The story of the crossover moves into phase 4- final inking!  Let the fun begin!  Time to ink a wrap around cover and complete 49 pages of this illustrated extravaganza! 
Take a gander at the proposed cover for the crossover.  We think it looks pretty cool.   
On top of this, the  book being off by an odd page count we have decided to throw in a supplement story as well for shits and giggles.
More to follow on this topic.

COMMISSIONS UPDATE:

The piece I called "Reading to Run" is now currently at the framers right now.  Onward to the next commission on the agenda.  Hopefully this piece will be as good.  I think it will.

JOHNNY VEGA NEWS


As the crossover is completed and the other art shows are going on, the creative edge of the box continues on.  "Humble Beginnings" and its follow up "All Tomorrow's Parties" are thumbnailed out and directly feed into the four color books on hand right now "The Rock Apes of Xandar."
  Now lately there have been Numberious images generated with Vega more in a fantasy setting..  A lot of the commissions have been theamed with heavy sword and sorcery.  If a lot of people didn't know it that subject is where I cut my teeth on.  A steady diet of Conan the Barbarian Magazines and reading as many Micheal Moorecock books as I. could get my hands on dealing with the Eternal Champion.
  Of course Buroughs influenced me a lot especially with covers the of Frazetta and Boris Vallejo of sword weilding John Carter.
  Action is where Johnny is going.  And things are going be interesting  as "WEIRD ATOMIC TALES" will enter with an alternate version of Johnny as Vega the Barbarian.  Also will be featured other sci fi stories that don't fit into the regular Vega Universe.  The Misguided parts 3 and 4.   Boy in the Bubble,  D.F.A.  At least that's what I got set up for a several books. 
  AND of course because it was a shared book to begin with Jason from NEOtrash Comix can use it as well. 
 

CORPSE COP NEWS:

"ARITIC WOLF" is still undergoing development but rest assured that this cop of the undead will be scratched out for another year.

GALLERY WORK:




  Well this weekend marks the beginning of the 88 Strong show .  What I mean by this is the promoters of the show will be handing out 8"X8" wooden panels that will be handed out this weekend for the show  in late September.  Now as it turns out I may already engaged with another show this year in Seattle for the second Jet City Comic Show. 
  In October the same gentlemen of the 88 Strong will be hosting the BIG 100 show. 
  The BIG 100 last year turned out to be a very good show and I  don't see this year being any different. 


Busy time for the kid.     
And I am out of here.

BBC Update 7/10/11

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:


THE PORTLAND GUN SHOW






  Its not what you think it is there true believers. (apologies Stan).   This gathering of artists for the month of July and America's Independence Day was artist showing guns featured in their art work.
Earilier this year Black Box Comix show cased the Corpse Cop “Corpsecilce” story board art. And had a lot of positive feedback. This time I wanted to present the work a little more than art pieces stuck up on the wall at Globe.
  Now since Corpse Cop, everybody's favorite cop of the undead just happens to have a chain gun, it made sense to show him.
The piece that will feature him rendered in beautiful detailed scratchboard of black and white.  The title "Fill in the Blanks". Framed and the price for this framed  masterwork -$300.00.
  If you haven't seen the show or happen to be passing through the Portland Oregon area,  check out the Globe at (link)

COMISSIONS!
Well in the last couple of weeks that have happened between June and July I have been fortunate enough to have been contracted for a couple commissions. 
The first is still in the works but is moving forword for some  friends I know.  Sorry that is about much as I can say about this illustration.
  Next on the docket is a  scratchboard piece.  It is entitled "Reading to Run" 11"X14".     This beauty retailed in at $150.00.
This had to be one of my better pieces I have done.  As my friend Lynn Peterson said (to paraphrase her father) Nice and sinister...('the plot sickens' ).

TALE OF TWO JO(H)NNY'S


Well Jason and I have decided that this story will be printed under comic banner of "WIERD ATOMIC TALES". 

  Now as may have noticed I have been doing a lot of Fantasy influenced art for Vega lately and I realized that all the stories I have for the Man of the Future have been plotted out till the end of the series.  With that being said I didn't want to let this character go  so I started to develop the Paraelle time line of Lost World for Vega and company.
Just wanted to put a different spin on the mythology of the Vega Universe with "A World not of his making.".  I personally love that line.   

It was a title that I was messing around with and sounded like a good jumping off point for this crossover.   Work started this weekend on the finished inked pages.  Hopefully my inking skills are up to this task- just kidding.  I am totally looking forword to this. 
Jason and I both agree that we don't want this book to look half assed in any way so when its done, it looks right.



So a very busy summer for the kid.     
And I am out of here.

BBC Update 7/03/11

BBC Update 7/3/11

Well sports fans Al here with the latest. As I write this a the first of the art pieces for gallery work has been dropped of for the Globe “**Call to Artists**”.

Next week will be the drop off for the show and should do well for Corpse Cop as far as I can tell.
As I was told by my co-writer Jason Pott on the Crossover for the Tale of Two Jo(h)nny’s that Jason of Floating World in downtown PDX once he saw Corpse Cop popped on the scene he said “Tell me more”.

Now I have talked to this gentleman a couple of different times but have never really pitched the book to him as I have had my nose dug into making art and creating. It is one of the weaknesses that I think most artists usually have.
Marketing themselves. I don’t mind the percentage that could be taking off the top for helping me out but the compulsion to create is so strong I don’t think that I can stop.
But gallery work is beginning to pull me in another direction.
The creative bug has gotten into me -especially with the New title called “Weird Atomic Tales” Risky Sci Fi is back! With a vengeance! Haha.



But seriously I had been looking again at the idea of old anthology of Pandora’s Garage and dusting it off but I wanted to streamline the content of the anthology.
Vega is on my mind as is Corrax, War Ram and a couple other potential crossover ideas that will be retooled for the book. Firsdt namely is “Ston” based upon Ben Perkin’s Heavy Horse character. Ben’s look and feel for Heavy sparked a lot of initial ideas for me but his ultimate version is his and I don’t wanta throw away those stories that I thought could work easily in the Heavy Universe. And nor do I want to step on his toes with such a fantastic character! Seriously if you haven’t seen any of his work on Heavy you should.
The re tooling will under the story called “The Rules of Set” with the new character, Ston, that I will be working on.

War Ram the mini is coming out soon for the shows. I have been in between small breaks been able to turn out some very small press print runs of War Ram and the Strange Alchemy books. Of course when it comes time for Werid Atomic Tales War Ram will be brought back into the fold. as Well as an ode to the EC and Warren magazines of old with “the Over Intelligence”.
Check out

COMMISSIONS:
Work on these images on. The first I must keep under wraps but enough to say that it is a fantasy oriented piece. If you have been watching the Vega The Barbarian piece I have been turning out then you know where it might be going.
The second is a birthday present so that is self explanatory.

BBC Update 6/26/11

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

TALE OF TWO JO(H)NNY'S:



Phase 3 begins with a red pen.  This has always been the best way to see any and all mistakes that would be glaring to the readers out there.  A red pen issue or proof as it is commonly known as, are a staple for printing. 
  Almost every independent comic publisher I know does this unless you're fool hearty to just put stuff out there.
  I know, I've done that too and paid the price for it.  And it's expensive. 
   Hopefully within the next week I will have a copy back to work on and finished pencils and inks to be added.
I've also included a cover (above) drawn by Mr. Pott himself. Please take a bow.
   
  JOHNNY VEGA NEWS:



"Humble Beginnings" Parts 1 and 2. As well as "All Tomorrow's Parties" Parts 1 and 2 move into Phase 2 for editing.  Though this may take a big longer to see fruition it will be awesome to see and look at in the context of the bigger Vega picture.  And the updated pages from the first three issues of the color Vega books as well.
   Not quiet a re launch of the book and title as it is a consistency issue.  Not unlike when Mike Mignola works on a solo Hellboy story.  Its great to have all these great supporting artists work on the books like Davis on the B.R.P.D. Or Cobin or Fegredo but when the man steps up to the plate you know its gonna be awesome!   
   The John Carter influenced piece was something that I wanted to play around with for other types of Johnny Vega stories that wouldn't fit in the regular Vega Universe. So I decided to create a COMIC that featured these other types of stories in it. I could dust off Pandora's Garage and come up with a Volume 6 which would be kinda cool or a whole new different kind of book called "Weird Atomic Premire" Who knows what will come out of that.

  SCRATCHBOARD NEWS:




Now in all of this down time in between projects scratchboard begins to loom not to far off in the works.  I am aiming for about 15 different 8"X8" pieces of art.  The first of these wonderfully weird pieces you have already seen - "Brain Cage 2".  Others will be posted in due time. 
RELATED ART NEWS: I have been invited and have AGREED to participate into a couple of different art shows this year to get the work of moi (Alan Bennett if you didn’t know already) for a couple of art shows this year. The first is

**Call to Artists** for the PORTLAND GUN SHOW. taking place the 2nd week of July.
Hosted by Joel Barber at the Globe. Located at 2045 SE Belmont St. map link is here

In this this show will feature the everybody's favorite undead Cop- Corpse Cop. Mr. Cop will be sporting his ever present chain gun of death in this heroic piece entitled "Fill in the Blanks" 16"X20". Going price $300.00 smakers.
The second show is called
the 2nd annual 88 STRONG 8"x8". It will be at THE GOODFOOT GALLERY (2845 SE Stark) for Last Thursday, September 29th.
map for this event is at this link
And later in the year hosted by the same guys from Po’boy Art and Framing is the BIG 100 which I hope to participate in again this year with more work.

CORPSE COP NEWS:

Now this a double for the cop on the undead beat.  Firstly is a decent sized scratchboard piece already mentioned above but ALSO IN THE WORKS-


Another scratchboard follow up to "Corpsecile".  A 12 page story called "Arctic Wolf". It is currently being set up for send off to my editor along with the script to really get this project going.

So a very busy summer for the kid.     
And I am out of here.

BBC Update 6/19/11

Hey there sports fans, Al here with the latest:

TALE OF TWO JO(H)NNYS:



The work continues on phase 2.  A few Minor set backs have held the book in check as the cross over enters its third week of June.   
   This in of itself is a major thing.  With the. layout and tight pencils and the lettering complete, now comes the fun time with editor.  Refinement.
  But the work is looking good and coming together.  The aim is have this book ready for the Second Jet City show this September.
  Jason and I are both looking to seeing this book completed.


JOHNNY VEGA NEWS:



Well as Vega begins his tour of Alternate Universes (I.E. Crossovers with Darkslinger Comics , NEOtrash. Comix), Johnny swings back into his own Universe with that little known thing called an ORIGIN!
  Yep you heard it here first!  In the ol' Condo of Concepts (Mr. Green take a bow) Johnny's origin can be told as it should.  After working on this character for over a little ten years.    It is about time for this character to get origin he deserves.  Like so much of the old black and white Johnny work he kinda started off in the middle of career.  But in keeping with the campiness of stories I loved as a kid I kept that feeling alive with "Humble Beginnings" as well as with the immediate follow up "All Tomorrows Parties". 
  It should also be fun.